IOWACITY — At the state Board of Regents meeting Wednesday, student leaders from Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa accepted a 3.9 percent tuition hike for 1997-98, but asked the board to ensure the increase go to tangible student benefits.

“We find the [increased] rates acceptable,” said ISU Government of the Student Body President Adam Gold. “I hope the issues of students are always in your [board members] minds.”

Gold asked the board to use the revenue generated from the increase to improve facilities, develop ties to outside communities, and encourage diversity within the regents’ universities.

The proposed increase, to take effect July 1997, would raise ISU’s tuition $100 per year for residents and $328 for non-residents. The proposed hike includes computer and health facility fees but excludes pharmacy fees or additional fees for engineering, computer science or management information systems students.

If the tuition raise is passed at the regents meeting next month, Iowa State would still be below the median tuition for land grant universities, costing $672 less than the average land grant school.

The increase would generate about $7.5 million to be used to strengthen undergraduate and graduate instruction, as well as continue the implementation of the four-year graduation plan and improvement of student retention and graduation rates, and student academic and support services.

“I would support the recommendation as a reasonable proposal. It will allow us to continue to improve the quality of education at Iowa State,” said ISU President Martin Jischke.

While most regents were in favor of the increase, after discussing both the tuition hike and an increase in student financial aid, Regent Nancy Pellet from Atlantic said it does not make sense to raise tuition rates and then use that money, in part, to offer more financial aid to students.

Jischke reported that 75 percent of ISU students receive some sort of financial aid and $150 million of $250 million in total student expenses is paid to students through scholarships, grants and loans.

After Jischke’s comments, Pellet said she wonders if students need more financial aid now than in past years because tuition rates are too high.

“Is our tuition too high? Are our budgets too high? I think we need to look at the whole gamut.” Pellet said. “I have a real problem with increasing tuition to 3.9 percent,” she said.

The tuition increase will be voted on at the Oct. 14-15 meeting at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Not just undergraduates have a need for more financial aid. At the meeting Wednesday, the ISU Graduate Student Senate asked for the board’s support of full-tuition scholarships for graduate students on assistantships at Iowa State.

According to a GSS pamphlet presented at the meeting, the goal of ISU becoming the premier land grant institution in the country depends on the continued emphasis on research.

“Grad students are doing the majority of the work that makes Iowa State famous,” said GSS spokeswoman Liesl Kelly.

ISU research technicians, consultants, professors and graduate students are the least compensated group of research participants. To continue to attract the caliber of researchers currently at ISU, students need to be provided more financial aid, Kelly said.

“The goal is to put us in a more competitive position for the superstars of the future,” said Jischke, who supports the GSS’s plea for full-tuition scholarships.